


Harder

by t0zier



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Anxiety, CW;, Coffee Shops, Coran is the manager of Starbucks, Depression, F/M, Gay, Gay Keith (Voltron), Internalized Homophobia, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Keith hates coffee, Lance is 18, M/M, Multi, Other, POV Third Person, Panic Attacks, Past Rape/Non-con, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rape/Non-con Elements, References to Depression, Shiro (Voltron) Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Shiro is 25, Strangers to Lovers, They're kind of lazy, and horrible about talking, i'll add tags as i go, keith is 19, keith is an orphan, lazyyy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:36:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23990917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/t0zier/pseuds/t0zier
Summary: Keith works in the most unbelievably boring and smelly cafe he's probably ever been to. Scratch that, he works at Starbucks. The customers always suck- they're loud, obnoxious, and he often finds himself pondering why he ever let Lance convince him that working with together in a fucking coffee shop would be anything but a bad idea.It was raining that afternoon. Keith was leaning on top of the cash register at cash one, deep into his life-hating thoughts when suddenly the scowl that painted his face was replaced by one of complete surprise. Somehow, he hadn't noticed the ring of the bell or the tall man with a metal hand waving in his face."Hey, you in there?" the man said with a smile- though showing a hint of concern, which was slightly annoying."..Just deep in thought," Keith sighed heavily, "what can I get for you?"
Relationships: Allura/Lance (Voltron), Allura/Lotor (Voltron), Allurance - Relationship, Keith/Shiro (Voltron), Shatt - Relationship, sheith
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	Harder

**Author's Note:**

> I want to note that lately I've been extremely shitty with my writing. Inconsistent, and lazy as fuck, overall just having writers block for literal months and I'm trying to break the cycle. My job can't keep me from writing- even if it's shitty writing. Gotta at least try, right?

Early in the morning (some time around seven A.M), Lance busted into Keith's room unannounced, as well as _uninvited._ He obnoxiously threw open the window curtains like some Disney movie freak and failed an attempt at prying away the blanket covering Keith's annoyed face. 

" _Keith,_ wake the fuck up, man!" Lance scrambled around the bedroom like a rabid animal, and again tried to rip away the sheet but was only met with an annoyed Keith peaking out from under the covers who was harshly scowling at his roommate- who scowled back. Keith rubbed at his eyes momentarily, adjusting to the light coming from the newly opened window (that's remained closed for practically a whole month), and growled lowly. 

"Lance. I swear to god, if you don't fuck off I'm going to-"

"Dude, it's Monday!" He cut him off and gestured with his hands but Keith wasn't quite sure what the hell he was even gesturing. _Yeah,_ it's Monday. He shifted back under the covers, while taking an extra measure in throwing a pillow over his face as well and completely ignored Lance. Clearly, he didn't heed his warning, because Lance tore away the blanket completely this time _and_ the pillow. Exhaustion was still fresh in Keith's mind and he was desperate for a few more hours of rest. Staying awake until four A.M was definitely not a wise choice, but when else was he going to binge watch a whole season of of a show? It was obvious to him though that he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep since Lance had so rudely woken him up, and the hazy feeling of sleepiness had faded away already. He hoped Lance silently left the room so he could stare mindlessly into the void of his blank wall, but the peaceful silence was broken by that annoying voice of his. 

"Keith, your shift started an hour ago. Be in the parking lot in five minutes or I'm ditching you, dude." Lance never failed to break those types of.. promises? Realization slapped Keith in the face _hard,_ because what Lance meant by 'it's Monday,' was that _it was Monday_ and Keith had _morning shifts_ on Mondays. He whispered a few cuss words before jumping out of bed to climb into his unwashed and sweat-reeking uniform before lazily brushing his teeth and rushing out the door. There were few things Keith really cared about- work was not one- but he certainly cared about money, and he'd already lost an hour's pay. No point in missing the whole eight hours. 

* * *

The pace was painfully slow that morning, and Keith was indefinitely regretting his choice to even go in. Though, he would've fucked over the store if he didn't show up since his dud coworker called in sick for the _eighth time_ that month- he was surprised she wasn't fired yet. He and Lance were in storefront, while their Manager took care of unloading inventory into the storage fridges (he was secretly relieved that he didn't have to deal with that man's unbelievable sheer peppiness and the joy that practically seeped from his pores. He wondered how someone could be so fulfilled at a job like this, but he was foreign, so he decided that was enough reason). 

Customers would come in in clusters of one to four, and then the place would be deserted for another forty-five minutes, until the 'cycle' repeated. Lance was cheerfully scrubbing pots until he noticed the quite obvious grimace pasted on Keith's face- it screamed ' _I hate my fucking job. Don't come in'_ to him and he subconsciously decided Keith was the one and only reason that no one wanted to come in when they saw him lazily leaning against the cash register staring into nothingness.

"Yo, Keith," Lance started, walking over with a pot in one hand and a sponge in the other. "Stop lookin' like that. You're probably the reason no one is coming in!" Keith dug his eyebrows deeper into a scowl, and slowly turned his already fading attention toward Lance. 

"Maybe if you took down the fort and I left to get some shut-eye, I wouldn't look so _unapproachable_ ," Keith shined a painfully fake (and rather creepy) toothy smile to Lance, who just winced in response. 

"You should stick to the look of 'unapproachable', you look better that way." Keith huffed in response, seeming more annoyed than before. "You know I love you, man, but you gotta work on your... never mind." It was obvious that Keith was tuning him out, and staring into the void again. His eyes would glass over, and he'd get this far away look in his eyes; he was far from reality at that point. Lance scoffed, and went back to scrubbing the little coffee pot in his hand, also trying to tune out the world. 

* * *

Keith ended up staying an extra hour after work to help with the sudden swarm of customers and unbelievable amount of sandwich orders (were those sandwiches even good?) in comparison to the coffee's, so both he and Lance's shifts finished at three-thirty. He opened the passenger door to their car and slumped inside with an audible _oof_ , and tried to rub the headache out through his temples. Lance followed in suit, sticking the key into the car but remaining in park. Keith noticed this, and groaned. 

"Can we just go? I've got an essay to write, and a bed to sleep in, Lance," he whined- out of character, but he was beginning to really just feel like utter shit. Lance rolled his eyes with a frown.

"You gotta at least _eat,_ man. Ever think your headaches are from your lack of food and dehydration? You act totally inhuman," he stated, as a matter of fact. He was right, though. Keith often forgot to feed himself simply out of forgetfulness; it was definitely a painful habit. 

"Fine. Pizza?" Keith grimaces, but he knows how much Lance enjoys a good pizza, and it's better than nothing. ~~It's better than Lance's cooking.~~ A tinge of joy creeps it's way into him when he see's the smile Lance is wearing, and it bites his heart. 

"Fuck yeah I'll get us pizza," _he_ was clearly excited about pizza, but suddenly the thought of grease coating his fingers and a thick layer of cheese makes his stomach turn inside out, and his headache worsen. Lance took notice, and switched to _drive_ , then pulled out of the parking lot. 

\---

The two lived relatively close to the Starbucks on Riverside Av., but somehow there was always traffic on their way home in the afternoons. There was a comfortable silence between them- one only Lance could provide. His fun-loving personality was definitely a great attribute, puns and flirtatiousness aside, but even Lance had limits. He and Keith had this unspoken bond between them, having lived together for a year and a half already and going to school together for seven made silence a calming experience for them both.

Keith rested his head on the car window, and caught himself daydreaming about his hectic life before signing a lease and moving five-thousand kilometres away from his home town to live with his best friend. He furrowed his brows, but not out of annoyance this time, and sighed almost inaudibly. They were stuck in traffic- so naturally, he was people watching. There was no one even remotely interesting. An edgy looking teen on a skateboard, old lady with a walker, and a group of kids looking to buy some ice cream. He glanced over to Lance, who seemed to be doing the same, so he turned him attention back to his window, but this time there was someone interesting. Standing at the corner of the side walk waiting to cross the street, was a bulky looking man- no older than 25- with a shiny, metallic metal arm. It caught Keith's attention, and barely anything could do that nowadays. He watched the man disappear around the corner again, and quietly hummed to himself.

He wondered what could've happened to him to result in that sort of injury, but quickly his mind wandered off when the car began to move again. 


End file.
